Shoe heel



Patented July 3, 1934 PATENT OFFICE sHoE HEEL Joseph F. Pollard and Everett Trask, Newburyport,

Mass.

Application May 2, 1932, Serial No. 608,662

2 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in shoe heels formed of sheet material composed mainly of fine bres of. shredded leather, or of other shredded fibrous material, in which the fibres 5 are intimately united by a pyroxylin adhesive and the material compressed to produce a homogeneous sheet from which lifts for shoe heels may be cut and which when assembled, turned and polished, will `present an appearance closely simulating the appearance of a shoe heel made from lifts of sole leather.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sheet material of the character above described which is flexible, which can be readily cut or l5 skived to present a smooth surface and thereby particularly adapted for the production of wedgeshaped lifts for the high heels of womens shoes.

A further object of the invention 'is to provide a shoe heel constructed of superimposed lifts of '120 sheet material of the character above described in which the lifts are cohesively united by the same pyroxylin adhesive which is employed as an adhesive for uniting the shredded fibres, whereby the assembled heel will, in effect, become an 25 integral construction.

These and other objects and features of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawing and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a sheet of material of the character above described showing in dotted lines forms of heel lifts adapted to be cut therefrom;

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of a heel lift of uniform thickness;

Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of a wedgeshaped heel lift which may be formed by skiving a lift of the type illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a series of superimposed heel lifts cemented together and compressed; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a complete heel for a womans shoe embodying the invention.

The method of producing the sheet material illustrated in Fig. l comprises first dissolving ground pyroxylin or pyroxylin composition, such as Celluloid pyralin, or the like, in a suitable alcoholic solution, preferably acetone, with the addi- =.5 tion thereto of ethyl acetate, to prevent unequal hardening of the composition, in suitable proportions, as, for example, forty-eight ounces of acetone to three ounces of ethyl acetate. To this solution is added a suitable amount of alcohol, preferably approximately a pint of alcohol, in

which an ounce of camphor has been dissolved for the purpose of keeping the material from becoming hard and brittle, and also to cause uniform volatilization of the solvent.

Desirably a suitable material is added to the solution to give it the desired flexibility. For this purpose we have found that dibutyl, tricresyl phosphate, castor oil, or glycerine may be used in suitable proportions, as, for example, one and one-half ounces of glycerine. Suitable fibrous material, preferably shredded leather alone, or paper bre, cotton fibre, flax, jute, wood fibre, or other bres, or a mixture of such fibres with shredded leather, is stirred into the solution above described in suicient quantities to produce a homogeneous plastic mass.

The mass thus formed is spread out and partially dried, preferably for a period of approximately four hours, and is then rolled into relatively thick sh'eets. It is then permitted to dry for a considerably longer period, such, for example, ninety hours, when it is finally pressed or rolled into a sheet of the desired thickness and density. The material thus formed, upon further and complete drying out, is a homogeneous flexible material, exceedingly tough, and which when cut with a sharp instrument presents a smooth surface and when polished closely simulates the appearance of leather.

Fig. 1 illustrates a sheet l `of this material and in dotted lines the outlines 2 of heel lifts of various sizes adapted to be cut from the sheet. Heel lifts 3 of uniform diameter throughout are illustrated in Fig. 2 and wedge-shaped heel lifts 4 are illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 illustrates a series of the lifts 3 of uniform size and wedge-shaped lifts 4 superimposed to provide a rough shoe heel, the adjacent faces of the respective lifts being secured together by coatings 5 of the same adhesive as that which serves to bind all the shredded fibres forming the body of the material. The lifts thus superimposed are placed in a mould (not shown) and are subjected to high pressure in the mould to hold the lifts in intimate contact until the adhe- '100 sive sets.

The solvent of the adhesive, which is applied to the surface of the respective lifts, acts as a solvent of the adhesive in the surface zones of the adjacent lifts, and under the pressure in the 1015 moulds cohesively unites the lifts in such a manner as to produce in effect an integral heel which cannot be broken or torn apart.

After the heels thus constructed are dried, they may be treated in the same manner as leather 'no heels, or may be turned upon heel-turning lathes such as are employed in the manufacture of wooden heels, or may be finally sanded and buffed to present a highly polished surface. The outlines of the lifts of heels thus constructed are clearly dened and closely simulate in appearance a heel formed of lifts of sole leather.

The heels produced vby the present process are, however, of a superior character because the material of which each of the lifts is made is more dense and has a tensile strength comparable with that of sole leather. If desired, the usual lower lift 6 of sole leather may be nailed to the bottom of the heel before the final trimming and polishing of the heel, and it Will be found When the lower leather h'eel is assembled upon the heel its appearance Will differ very little, if any, from the superimposed lifts formed of the composition above described.

The material above described in its plastic state may if desired, after being suiciently dried, be moulded directly into heels, but in such case the desired laminations simulating a built-up heel Will not be produced.

The sheet material, while particularly designed for use in the manufacture of shoe heels, may also be employed for other purposes where a tough flexible material, such as leather, is used.

The sheet material is flexible and water-repellent. It is capable of being surfaced or embossed to present the appearance of leather and may be employedas a substitute for leather for Various uses. It is particularly adapted for use in inner soles for shoes as the heat of the foot will increase the pliability of the material.

It will be understood that the proportions of the ingredients above specied are those which have been found to be desirable to produce a composition suitable for making heel lifts for shoes, but it Will be understood that the proportions of the ingredients may be varied and/or equivalent solvents or materials substituted therefor within the meaning and scope of the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A turned shoe heel formed of homogeneous superimposed layers each made of compressed bres, mainly shredded leather fibres, intimately united by a pyroxylin adhesive containing an alcoholic solvent, and in which the contiguous layers are cohesively united by the same pyroxylin adhesive, said heel presenting a polished surface and simulating a laminated leather heel.

2. A turned shoe heel formed of superimposed layers each made of compressed fibres, mainly shredded leather bres, intimately united by a pyroxylin adhesive comprising mainly acetone, ethyl acetate and alcohol, and in which the contiguous layers are cohesively united by the same pyroXylin adhesive, said heel presenting a polished surface and simulating a laminated leather heel. Y

JOSEPH F. POLLARD. EVERETT TRASK. 

